Kingdom of God
by Thess
Summary: The Virgin, the Messiah and the Dragon. A delusion of triumph, romance and failure. A Manga set AndersonxIntegralxAlucard story.
1. Longinus

Disclaimer: _Hellsing_ belongs to Kouta Hirano.

Author's Notes: Edited by Essie Aster, this story (divided in three parts) is for Hellsing Drops community in livejournal (couple claim: AndersonxIntegralxAlucard) and fictionhaven challenge of delusion theme. Angelcide made fanart for this: livejournal(dot)com/community/Hellsing()drops/7512(.)html, drop her a message.

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**Kingdom of God**

Part One

- Longinus

There had been a great war in Heaven, the dragon and his acolytes fought with the angels of God. The Virgin and her unborn child were the key of the evil's eventual defeat. It would not be different, it could not be now? There was a battle on earth; the divine and the profane had taken on flesh.

Integral Hellsing was not clothed in sun nor had she the moon at her feet, but she was the Maiden. Her hair and cheeks were dusty and tangled with dirt and blood. It was a miracle her clothes were not torn completely.

She took a few steps forward and surveyed the former city of London. Midian was currently a smoking pile of bricks and corpses. The Zeppelins were still on fire, and the flames extended everywhere. She closed her eyes, unable to feel, to seek an echo of emotion she used to feel so passionately. Killing Walter left her numb, unable to mourn him due to the ongoing battle.

She did not cry. She did not hold him as he died. Her arms just happened to wrap themselves around him before she could help herself. She did not show weakness.

_They are near. _

Ignoring her bleeding right knee, Integral continued her path, dodging the corpses of Nazis, Catholics, citizens and the dead army. She had to reach them in time. She paused when the silhouettes of the two clashing monsters appeared in her view. Alucard regained his armoured form and was giving his last stand. Destroying Millennium wore him down and annihilated his reserve of souls to fuel his power. Armed with his sword and Jackal he assumed the defensive position. His hair was shadows, or hissing snakes made of black ink. Anderson seemed aware of this, not hesitating in his vicious assault with thorns and bayonets against his vampire adversary.

Integral rushed in, almost stepping on the twitching Heinkel Wolfe. The nun had lost an arm but was alive. At her left the Japanese sister fought for her breaths and to move without a leg.

"S-sir…"

Integral looked down at the call. Seras Victoria was there, nearly choking in a pond of her own blood.

"Seras," she knelt, rolling the girl over to rest in her back. "He won't die. You are feeling this weak because your Master is losing strength," she assured her, taking off her coat to cover Seras who groaned in discomfort. "Stay still. Don't close your eyes, and wait for us."

Integra shot a parting gaze to Seras. She had a particularly deep wound in her left breast. If that had reached her heart she could be dying. But Integra could not afford the time to feel. It was the stage of thinking and accomplishing. The knight was indifferent as long victory was achieved.

Integral wandered closer to the battlefield and listened to the voices of the monsters. She did not quite understand what Alucard and Anderson were shouting. The language was pure gibberish to her ears. It was old and spiteful, not a human tongue.

They lunged to themselves far too close, snarling and wielding their weapons for a handful of minutes until one collapsed on the ground, defeated. She could not allow herself any emotion, not now. Se had to pretend she was not torn, that none impulsive feeling motivate her to carry on with the choice she had made as soon she saw Alucard's body starting to decompose on the floor.

"Paladin Anderson!" Integral shouted, narrowing her eyes, feeling a rush of adrenaline inside her system. He turned around to see her, his eyes were empty and glowing in a strange white light. The divine was more frightening than the diabolical, but she was not nervous, no matter the sweat sliding on her face or her stomach contriving in anxiety.

Anderson's feral expression blinked into a smile, and he started to reach for her, offering no threat towards her.

She ignored the pang of regret, no emotions could be afforded, no sympathy towards the Paladin of the Lord. She smiled back and knelt, inclining her head as if in marvel of his holy magnificence.

"You are _her_," he finally said in English, his fingers caressed the strands of her head, blessing her with his sudden gentleness. She did not reply nor ask who 'she' was. She did not care.

"I am your greatest adversary," Integral reminded him flatly, seizing a fallen spear that used to belong a Catholic knight with the remands of her strength.

_Only a human can defeat a monster. _

She pierced his side and held it with a shaking aim for a full minute until she heard a rib breaking. Integral stood while the Paladin fell to his knees, hands on his wound, unable to regenerate after the surprise attack or take out the lance out of his body. She did not feel remorse or apprehension. She felt nothing even despite her hands were trembling.

_I wish I could say I am sorry._

Even if Integral owned Anderson her life, she had more urgent debts to repay.

She forced her gaze away from Anderson to approach Alucard, leaving the questions about his low guard and docility unexplained. There laid the defeated dragon by the holy host, at the woman's feet as he was supposed to be.

"Count, my foes are all gone as you promised."

"C-countess…"

"And I defeated yours as reward."

She was completely still. Her arms were not trembling, and her heart was not pounding faster than normal. Integral knelt and took his fading torso before it was too late. She knew the danger, all of the scenarios and outcomes were considered beforehand - at the moment she released his restrictions.

Integral was cold, regardless of the warm tears that were streaking her cheeks. She pulled his head closer to her neck. He moved, his lips curled up in a broad smirk against her skin. She wished that the hesitation would fade away but it did not but she told herself it did, visualized her steely resolution and put it as visage. The price to pay was cheap by comparison to all she had already lost.

"Take a life to assure the survival of three."

_Only a human can choose to worship a God._

She heard Anderson screaming madly before the pleasure engrossed her, relinquishing her of her long ignored pain - no existent in her head - and the pulse that kept rebelling against her commands. Integral smiled as her blood and life were drained way. She leaned eagerly as her clothes were torn apart and cold hands touched her intimately with fevered passion.

The Virgin had decided. The child would never born. The war had ended, and an impenetrable darkness covered the dawn around them.

Integral was truly cold now.


	2. Vinegar

**Part Two  
- Vinegar **

_Everything begins with an end. _

Alucard felt his strength returning with each mouthful of blood he took from Integral. His hands, the ten of them, roamed on her trembling body; she was warm and pliable, soft and willing. Nude except for the gloves; he did not touch them. Yet he could not enjoy himself fully.

She moaned aloud, calling his name through breathy pants.

He tore her flesh further in pure ecstasy. Yet he could not reach the peak of his passion.

Her blood was a cocoon that shielded Alucard from Anderson's unsuccessful attempts to tear them apart. His bayonets shattered to the contact, his thorns withered and died, his hands burnt to touch their skin. The Monster of God growled, enraged, to his amusement. Above, the sun was dying before it could rise again.

Integral's heart stopped beating, her body turned cold and her spirit engulfed his body. He shuddered as he cradled her corpse close to him, soothed her soul with the promise of reborn as soon he could feed from others. She was afraid in the darkness and Alucard felt himself more powerful than ever.

But why did her blood taste so sour in his mouth? He ignored the impression and focused on his breathless Nemesis who expected him to stand.

"Do you want to fight me now, Anderson?" Alucard taunted, rising after gently laying Integral down. He wielded her sword firmly, the blade shone despite light having nearly disappeared from the sky. "Do you want to match the strength? Your God is gone from this city, you are powerless. You have failed."

Anderson snorted, grinning madly. "Father of Lies, I shan't listen to your speech. It is _you_ who are the failure, Midian."

"That nail has numbed your mind, Judas… or should I call you Jesus Bloody Christ?" Alucard laughed, leaping to attack him, taking the initiative for the first time. Anderson tried to block his sword with his bayonets but they were destroyed with the impact. "Where is your God now, Messiah? He died by my hand, my triumph," he mocked, slicing his priestly collar with the sharp edge.

Anderson's features darkened and pressed himself on the blade. "No, monster, it was her choice. It is her victory not yours. Those are her life and sword you are wielding. You are a _failure_."

Alucard's sharp teeth bit down his bottom lip in fury. He would not stand to this lie. He had won! He had Integral! He had his Beloved Enemy in disadvantage! He had his lands, castle and servants! He would have laughed at his stupidity but he was mirthless, he hated Anderson for saying those words. He loathed him for becoming a monster and forsaking his complete triumph.

He would make him pay.

"You haven't realized your defeat, have you? You have thorns inside your head not over it," Alucard challenged, pushing Anderson to a side. A hellhound stepped over him, pawing his chest and growling fearsomely. It was guarding the former priest to stay down until he finished his work. "You wanted to play Messiah, Anderson? You will continue to this role to the end." His dog bit off the cross from around his neck and ate it. "You already carried a cross all your life, the miniscule weight of your sins. I'll make you one that fits you better."

His eyes swirled in spite and malice as he turned to the impaled Catholic Crusaders. He built a cross of made of molten silver, flesh and hair. He tore down limbs and sewed them together seamlessly, plunged the metal to add resistance in order to contain his enemy's weight. Alucard gave instructions for the hellhound to shift his angle so the Paladin could observe when he chopped Maxwell's hands and ate the flesh to the white bone, he shaped three 'nails' out of them.

"Will you ask your Father about your bleak fate? Forgive the sins of everyone when you are the biggest sinner?" Alucard interrogated, picking up his useless bible writ before approaching Anderson from behind.

Anderson just smiled benignly as response, "Failure."

Snarling, he lashed out with the writ. It hit the cloth twice, the third time it reached the flesh. Alucard kept with the scourging until he bled, it lasted until the thorns where soaked in red. He bent to taste his blood, it was bitter to his mouth.

"One of your Draculinas awoke, Failure," Anderson informed him. Alucard looked up and saw Seras Victoria, wrapped in Integral's blue coat and stumbling in their direction with a wide-eyed expression.

"M-Master?" she asked, hesitantly glancing at Integral's body.

"Keep her warm, Seras Victoria, my Countess will awake when I am over."

She shot Anderson a pitiful look before complying. The war had been a good influence for she did not longer protested in her role nor let compassion get the best of her.

"Where were we, Messiah?" Alucard asked, hauntingly.

"Does your 'Countess' approve this sacrilege?"

Alucard's eyes glowed and picked him up roughly, dragging Anderson to where the flesh crafted Cross stood. He lifted him with two arms while his hair tangled in his wrists like a net to spread his arms wide. The Paladin kicked fruitlessly, his strength was of an ant compared to his. He dismissed the bother by tidying Anderson's feet with a strand of his own mane.

"She chose my side over yours! Damnation over holiness! The last human!" Alucard howled, licking his fangs. "You chose too, Anderson. You wanted to be Christ! So be it! Drown yourself in the pain and self pity!" He plunged the nails, two on Anderson's palms and the other between his bound feet.

"I chose to take away your victory!" Anderson snapped, choking with his own blood, he spat it out on Alucard's face.

"Pray, Beloved Enemy, if you can remember the passages of your Bible… Ask your God aid in the dark times," Alucard proposed, unbothered by the smelly blood on his cheek. His mouth slipped into a smirk when realization dawned on Anderson's features. "You cannot pray, you don't remember the hollow worship words any longer. You sacrificed that way to communicate with God for a direct link… if He doesn't respond, it's because He's dead."

Anderson did not reply, his mouth twitched and trembled slightly.

"Your pain will not ease your people's. Your choice condemned them with you," Alucard informed him darkly. "The assassins are just sacrificial lambs." He turned to spot the living Iscariots, lying across the battlefield. Some were crawling on the ground while others could not move for they had difficulties breathing. "They were so eager to follow you to hell without realizing hell and its master is right here in earth."

"Don't dare, Black Devil! Stop!"

He did not stop; Anderson's desperation encouraged him. Integral agitated inside of him but he did not pause either, she would be freed when he tasted the first life to fuel his. Alucard lunged to the frightened male Iscariots, they did not have a chance to scream while he sucked them dry, soul and blood belonged to him. They would not battle against the legions of hell anymore; they would be the troops of Hades.

_You failed, come to me._

"Motherfucker! Monster! Come and fight us!"

Alucard's eyes focused on the nun beneath him. She was Asian with long, messy black hair that covered her eyes and was handicapped of a leg. She tried futilely to stand with her sword as support.

"Fight what, Sister? You and your partner have nothing left to fight about," Alucard told them amused.

"W-we w-will meet our ends with honour," the shorthaired one vowed.

He finished with their team-mates before bringing the two living women to Anderson's feet. He was tempted to defile them to watch his enemy in all his impotence but he refrained, not for him but for them. As much he hated them, Alucard respected their strength, they were what Anderson could not be. If only he had fought them instead. Blood would be sweet instead of sour.

"Heinkel! Yumie!" Anderson writhed on the cross, struggling on the nails. "What will you do! Your quarrel is with me, leave them out."

"They chose this, Paladin as did you. _You_ failed. They won."

Alucard pulled out his Jackal. He only had two bullets left and fired them, one to each nun in their chest. They barely shrieked or complained when they died, their expressions were gloating, contented, fulfilled. He knelt over then, lapping the blood of their wounds.

"They would never serve in your army."

_Their souls are in another Hell now, Paladin_, Alucard committed as he kept gathering blood, _They won't be forced to stay and see this outcome. Do you envy them? You are such utter failure._

Anderson's face twisted in wrath. Alucard stood and turned around, taking steps forward, towards the new era Messiah.

_How does it taste? The failure you wanted to attribute to me? You missed your chance to fight hell forever! For what? I am still here, you are hanging there in an exhibition, you failed, and you brought yourself this failure._

He levitated to face Anderson. There was sorrow and despair behind his disgust and ire.

_Is your throat dry to remain so silent?_ he asked, lifting his chin roughly. _You are a Monster of God, blood is wine and wine is blood. Allow me to quench your thirst, Messiah_, Alucard purred playfully as he forced Anderson's lips apart with his mouth. He fed him with the blood he had taken of Heinkel and Yumi, maintaining the kiss until he swallowed loudly. The sight of his green eyes so big and soulful, bearing a shattered expression was so beautiful. He broke contact and whispered:

"How does the vinegar taste for you?" He twisted the lance deep into his right side.

"Y-You-" Anderson trembled, his face as red as the blood.

"Leave him be, Count."

Integral's voice brought Alucard down the floor once more. She was no longer nude, Seras had returned the coat and that covered her body. Her eyes were still blue but with a predatory hunger that marked her as Midian.

She walked to their direction, forsaking Seras behind. Her pace was remarkably balanced by such young, bloodless vampire. Her long hair replaced the lost light of the dead sun. She stopped next to him, smearing her gloved finger on Anderson's blood coming out his feet.

"If he's a true Messiah he'll stay on the Cross to wait for us, to meet his hour," Integral proposed, tasting her bloodied digit. "If he leaves his post, he's just one of us."

"As you wish, Countess," Alucard bowed, gesturing to Seras to come with them. "Then we'll hunt and return to see what he chose." He took Integral's arm and led the Draculinas to new hunting grounds.

He had what he had always wanted. A beaten enemy, the woman he had thirstily longed for, his domains and servant. He was victorious! Even so Alucard secretly wondered why the blood tasted like vinegar.

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Edited by StrangeSingaporean .


	3. Ascension

**Part Three  
- Ascension **

Two days had passed since the vampires had left and Anderson had already made his choice. He had contemplated carefully during his waking hours; the truth had tormented him while he slept. Could he carry the Lord's Cross until the end? Share His Pain? His Death?

He was a disciple of Iscariot. He was not a failure, he had merely followed his Creed. He was an assassin, not a martyr. He gritted his teeth and attempted to free himself. The muscles of his arms and neck strained, finding impossible to release himself from the nails.

He should step down from the Cross.

He was Judas who hung himself.

He would not die for the sins of the world, but for his own.

Anderson paused and breathed deeply, immediately regretting his foolish action. The festering corpses decorating the fields were not an encouraging prospect for his battle. It unnerved him, he who had presumed himself a connoisseur in the subject. Assassins were familiar with quick death, no matter how loud their victims scream or how messy the kill is they were clean. But none stay to see them root. The pestilence was not related with the glory of serving the Lord.

A fluttering noise distracted him; Anderson looked up. A black figure was flying in his direction from the direction of the cold, dead sun. It was decidedly bigger than the ravens that had harassed his post and pecked the fallen bodies. A humanoid silhouette became clearer and clearer. A yellow uniform stained with dried blood, messy blonde hair and innocent eyes filled with confidence and tragedy.

One of the Draculinas, Seras Victoria.

Anderson opened his mouth to demand to know about her Masters. To ask the motive of her visit but he could not articulate a word. No sound came from his dry throat. He tasted the 'vinegar' the Devil forced him to drink each time he moved his lips.

"They-" Seras paused, shooting him an unreadable look. "My Master and Sir Integral want to know your choice."

He frowned and struggled on his cross. The little Draculina with a human visage would be the last one to mock him. But Seras did nothing of sorts. She approached, freeing him from the nails, helping him to get down and to recover the balance. Anderson had no choice but to accept her aid; his muscles had atrophied and would not hold him. She took Integral's lance next, the spear was still hanging where the woman had viciously struck him.

"She wants it back," Seras explained, dropping the silver weapon to the floor when it burned her. "They will seek you out, Father Anderson." He looked at her darkly. "My Master told me I should pass the message to you."

Anderson could not thank her even if he wanted to. He gave a nod of understanding and started to walk away.

"Anderson!" she called out after him. He paused for a moment to glance at Seras for a brief instant "I am sorry."

_We all are, even your Master._

He touched the holy nail buried in his heart before placing the bony splinters inside the pockets of the ragged cassock and left. He wandered aimlessly, famished and delirious. He was seeking a temple to throw the silver pieces; to finally hang himself with the rope of straw.

He was Judas Iscariot, the Betrayer. He would not die crucified.

Days could have passed, even weeks, months, or entire years. The permanent full moon and dead sun above did not move, the winds were always cold and he was hungry. No one was around to feed him or quench his thirst. The city was bigger than Anderson remembered; the number of victims was greater than he estimated. Finally, he found a small Catholic Church, the walls outside were stained with smoke and charred citizens lay on the steps, but it was enough for him.

Anderson ascended the steps, exhaustion wore him down when he reached the gates to open them. The parish was darker than the world outside, the candlelight had been extinguished, but he was no longer human despite how he lied to himself about his new state – he could _see._

There were no corpses inside the church but horror struck him closer, hit a comfort zone he would not like to admit. The colourful stained glass was shattered, the statues of saints had been melted down, the guardian angels had turned into gargoyles. Anderson advanced towards the altar, surveying it in his unwanted silence; he yearned to scream but was not able to. The Virgin carried no child and was completely nude, blood streaking her cheeks; the cross where Christ should be hung was empty and turned upside down.

Alexander Anderson collapsed in front of the altar; the weight of the entire world was on his shoulders. He carried his own sins but why could he feel everyone's somehow? He stood and slammed his fists on the altar; the wounds from the nails had not regenerated, and his blood stained the white mantle.

He wanted to speak with his Lord, to answer his doubts, to lift his sorrow, but he could not remember his prayers, nor a word from the Bible. His mind was blank. The hunger intensified; he searched for the wafers and wine to satisfy himself with a holy meal, to commune with the Saviour. He dipped the wafer in the wine and voraciously glutted himself on it. His eyes widened at the flavour and Anderson spat it out instantly. The bread was human flesh and the wine tasted like blood. He looked at his wounds, noticing more missing.

He was Judas, he came to throw the thirty pieces of silver. He was Iscariot. He would hang himself in a moment on a hill. Once his legs stopped trembling; once he mustered strength to pray; once he had remorse in his body.

Anderson sat down, clutching his legs and put his head down on his knees. The blood and flesh were vinegar; he had lost his voice. He could not find any remnant of the Kingdom of God inside the New Babylon.

"Can't you?" his ears perked up at the girlish voice. It sounded mocking despite its seeming youth. "Can't you find the Kingdom of God?"

His eyes traveled until he met the force. It was a young girl of no more than thirteen. She was standing in a pure white suit with a red tie and a fuzzy hat. Her hair was long and straight, black as the abyss he felt immersed in; her skin was pale and ghostly and her eyes were glowing crimson.

_Nosferatu!_ His aggressive instincts came alive. She smiled toothily with pearly blunt teeth at his puzzlement and approached.

"You don't remember? You are in hell, Father Anderson," she taunted, her eyes gleamed and she dodged the golden goblet he tossed in defense, making an irritated expression. "That was not nice, Messiah. Have you forgotten what you said about children?" she asked, huffing.

He blinked and tried to recall. He thought about his orphans, awaiting his return to read another parable.

He thought of the children of London who would join their ranks if they were still living.

He thought of Enrico Maxwell, decades ago, spiteful because his parents abandoned him. All alone now, he had let him face the end alone.

Anderson's hands covered his face in shame, he could not cry, he had to recall the words.

"He did forget!" the girl giggled and pursed her lips in a coquettish manner. "We should refresh his memory! Come see him, Countess!"

_Countess…_ Anderson stared at the girl, the effeminate boy. It was Alucard. He ignored the killing impulse against the Devil to face the oncoming Draculina. His heart ached when he listened to the light footsteps and the sensation increased when he could see the once human and adult Integral Hellsing.

Integral looked older than Alucard but not much more, a year at most. Her hair was loose and her eyes still blue. She had a black jacket and a matching long skirt of the same shade. On the top of her head there was a hat with dark roses and a half shredded veil.

"Anderson," Integral addressed him, she looked so young, but her gaze was aged, even beyond Alucard's years. "Have you really forgotten?"

His expression softened and he quit gritting his teeth. He nodded in admission, almost in defeat.

"You forget your own words, Messiah!" Alucard shouted, whistling and laughing. Anderson shot him a disdainful look. He was not a Messiah, he was Judas, he needed his coins and straw, he had made the right choice. "Look at the cross, Anderson. It's empty." He did not look; he would not accept it. "I wonder why…"

He knew. He would not and could not say it aloud. They both came closer; he glared at them hatefully. Her choice, his actions. They had destroyed the Kingdom of God.

Integral sighed, shaking her head. "Will you fight us? You made your choice already," she gestured towards the Ccross and then to the saliva-soaked flesh and blood. "You are in hell and muted, Messiah. Allow us show you Heaven."

"Welcome a little child, you will be welcoming yourself and the one who sent you," Alucard added for good measure. His memory tingled, that twisted quote. "Spread your arms for us. Welcome the orphans of God."

_No children, those are costumes, you are monsters! You were never children!_

Wordlessly, they exchanged a glance before shifting; their forms and clothes started to change. He hoped they would become adults, but he was foolish to dare to be hopeful in a hopeless land. Their bodies shrank even more.

Alucard stood as a young boy with messy black hair and sad brown eyes, dressed in a ragged cloak. Dirt covered his cheeks, bruises were on his arms and legs. Integral recovered her glasses, her jacket was gone, and her skirt was blue now. She had a scared expression, bright tears stood out in her eyes. Her shoulder was bleeding and she had an angry smack on one side of her face. They were holding hands, looking desperate, lost…

_Innocent._

"We were children once," Integral pointed out. "We were chased or incarcerated by our own blood."

"We were betrayed and burdened. Raped of our innocence," Alucard continued as both continued to advance. "They taught us to kill."

"To command."

"To make the impure suffer."

"For God."

They knelt and curled around him, one to each side. Anderson froze as their heads leaned on his shoulders.

"We needed to stop being children for God," Integral murmured in a mournful tone. "Why aren't we inside His Kingdom. Why do you reject us?"

They stared at him, expectantly. Anderson loathed himself and them for those looks, so innocent and broken. They were torturing him. And he could not do anything but embrace both against him, knowing they were smirking against his sleeves.

_"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."_

The words came to him so suddenly, his eyes on the ceiling of the fallen Church.

"I remember…" Anderson spoke in a whisper, his throat hurt to articulate some words but it would pale in comparison to what he would feel next, when Integral's shark-like teeth sank into his tender neck.

"We know," Alucard said before he took out the nail from his heart and let it melt along with everything that remained holy. He kissed his lips as Integral fed off his blood and her hands touched his inflated flesh. "Welcome to our Kingdom, Messiah. It's time for you to ascend out of your personal Hell."

Anderson moaned, vision darkening. There was no more struggles, failures or coldness – only bliss. Yet the blood somehow still tasted to vinegar to them.

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Edited by Dreadnot. Thanks for the feedback everyone.


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